References

Penmanship Lesson Ideas

Teach a few letters at a time - group them by the shapes that are used to make them.

As you print letters talk out loud about how you are forming them. "This is a T. I make a line that goes down and now one that goes across.

Determine which hand is dominant.

Progress from large to small.

Use the chalkboard, sand, finger paint.

Teach the terms up, down, left, right.

Make sure the student is sitting in appropriate sized furniture.

Make sure the pencil is sharp, but not too sharp.

Make sure the student has a correct pencil grasp.

Roll dough into snakes and form the snakes into letters.

Cut letters out of bristol board - cover them in glue and then sprinkle sand on them. Shake off the excess sand.

Erasing
with Water : Teachers write, with chalk, the letters,
numbers or words for the children to practice on the chalkboard. Have the
children dip their brush in the water and "erase" what you have
written by painting over it with the water. I have used this activity with 3,4,5 and 6
year old children. We practiced with shapes in the younger groups and
moved on to letters, numbers and our names in the older groups. Often the
older children started writing their own letters to "erase",
therefore getting double the practice!

Coloured
Salt Names and Initials: Place salt in a zip-locking bags (about one cup) add
food coloring. Close bag. Have children vigorously shake the bag until all the
salt is coloured. Open the bag and spread the salt onto paper towels to dry. Have
children write their names or their initials using large paint brush with
slightly diluted white glue on paper. Immediately, have them sprinkle on the
coloured salt. Let dry, then shake off the excess salt